In the latest trial between the two smartphone rivals, Samsung Electronics and Apple Inc., a US jury had found the South Korean firm guilty of infringing three of the patents that belonged to the iPhone maker and had ordered Samsung to pay damages worth $119 million to Apple. However, the jury had also said that they would make additional deliberations regarding the damages and the trial on Monday and it seems that the amount was deemed sufficient as no change was made to it, even after deliberations. The trial that was held in the federal court of San Jose, California lasted for about a month.
The Cupertino, California based company had accused its South Korean rival of violating several of its patents that pertained to features in its smartphones such as the slide and unlock phone feature and even universal search. Samsung, on the other hand, had been adamant that they had not indulged in any wrongdoing. The jury had made a decision on Friday and had announced that the iPhone maker was to be paid a sum of $119.6 million by Samsung for infringing its patents. However, at that time, it had been argued by the attorneys of the American firm that a technical mistake had been made by the jurors as the company had been awarded damages for a patent that covered Samsung’s devices.
Therefore, for the purpose of resolving the issue, the jury had been ordered to return to court on Monday. 69 year old Margarita Palmada, who is a juror in the case and also a retired high school teacher, was of the opinion that it would have been better for the companies if they had been able to resolve their problems without having to undergo the whole litigation process. After the jury finished, she said this option would have proven to be much simpler for both the involved parties. She further said that initially, some jurors had been thinking about awarding Apple Inc. more in terms of damages, but had eventually reached the verdict that was given.
It has been three years since these competitors have been engaged in litigation all over the world. After a 2012 trial that also occurred in the same court in San Jose, California, Apple had been awarded damages by the jury worth $930 million. However, the iPhone maker had not been able to convince Judge Lucy Koh that it was better if an injunction was issued against the sales of Samsung’s devices in the US. Five patents of the iPhone maker were involved in this trial that hadn’t been part of the previous one.
The company is not seeking only monetary damages against the South Korean giant, but also wants to get Samsung’s devices like the Galaxy SIII banned. It is now up to the judge to decide if such an injunction will be warranted, but in the opinion of the experts, it is highly unlikely that it will be issued. In the trial, Apple was also found guilty of infringing a patent of Samsung and will have to pay damages of about $158,400.